Hon Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House -
1) notes with a deep sense of sadness the sudden passing on of the ANC stalwart Mama Albertina Sisulu on 2 June 2011 at the age of 92;
2) further notes that Mama Albertina Sisulu was born in the Transkei on 21 October 1918 as the second child of Bonilizwe and Monica Thethiwe and that, after the death of both her parents, Mama Sisulu, who was then 11 years old, took over the responsibility of looking after her brothers and sisters, and while she also had planned on becoming a nun, decided to become a nurse instead in order to financially support her siblings in their studies, and that in 1944 she married Walter Sisulu;
3) recognises that in 1955 Mama Albertina joined the ANC Women's League and in 1956, together with Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Amina Cachalia, led thousands of women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria during the famous Women's March to protest against blacks being forced to carry the notorious passbooks;
4) further recognises that during the height of repression, bannings, arrests and killings, she emerged steadfast and filled the void left by the forceful exiling and imprisonment of leaders like Mandela, Tambo and others, and that she was one of the founding members of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and gave guidance to young activists and leaders of progressive organisations, including Cosas, Sayco, Azaso, civic formations and many women's organisations throughout the country; and while she was not only giving political guidance, she was also being a mother figure to most activists, and that it was a combination of these two qualities, political and parental roles, that made it possible for her as a leader of the UDF to sustain a concerted campaign by all South Africans against the tri-cameral apartheid parliamentary system;
5) remembers that Mama Sisulu was the only female delegate at the official launch of the ANC Youth League on 10 September 1944 and 19 June 1963 and became the first woman to be imprisoned under the notorious 90 Day Act which allowed the state to hold suspects for 90 days without being charged, that she was banned in August 1964 for five years and confined to the magisterial district of Johannesburg, which complicated visits to Robben Island where her husband, Walter Sisulu, was serving a life sentence as a result of the Rivonia trial and that she was banned for a continuous 18-year stretch, from 1963 until Walter's release in 1989, having spent time in and out of jail, the longest period being eight months after attending the funeral of ANC Women's League veteran Rose Mbele;
6) further remembers that for more than 50 years, Mama Albertina committed herself to the Albertina Sisulu Foundation which works to improve the lives of small children and old people and that she was honoured for her commitment to the anti-apartheid struggle and her role as a social worker when the World Peace Council, based in Basel, Switzerland, elected her president from 1993 to 1996;
7) recalls that in 1991 Mama Albertina was elected to serve on the ANC's national executive committee, alongside Walter Sisulu, who was elected as ANC deputy president, and that, when in April 1994 the Sisulus observed the transition of their country in its first democratic elections, Albertina became a Member of Parliament and served Parliament until 1999;
8) acknowledges that while her family has lost a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother, the ANC and the country have lost an irreplaceable leader, a role model and a constant example of dedication and selflessness; and
9) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the Sisulu family, friends and comrades in the ANC, the Women's League, the Youth League and the Alliance.
I thank you, hon Deputy Speaker.
Hon Deputy Speaker, hon members, on behalf of the DA, it is indeed an honour to convey a message of condolence to the Sisulu family. Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, Mama Sisulu, was a moral compass for our nation. She was a fierce defender of freedom, and showed extraordinary fortitude during some of the most painful times in our country's history.
Mama Sisulu was a nurse, a mentor, and a leader. But she was first a mother, wife, grandmother and great-grandmother. Despite being a single mother for most of her life, she offered love and care to those far beyond her immediate family, especially our country's children.
Mama Sisulu was a Unicef patron; she spearheaded the establishment of the National Children's Rights Committee, a body which helped to ensure that the principles of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child were incorporated into our country's Constitution and Bill of Rights. During the transition to democracy, Mama Sisulu ensured that the needs of our children were prioritised. She believed that they had already paid too high a price in the country's struggle for freedom.
The news of Mama Sisulu's passing has been met with great sadness across the world. The outpouring of grief that we have seen in our own country is a testament to the significant role that Mama Sisulu played in shaping our nation. Today we have an opportunity to celebrate the life of an extraordinary woman who has gone to join the pantheon of great South Africans.
The Sisulu family has distinguished itself in the most exemplary fashion in service to our nation. Both Mama Sisulu and her late husband dedicated their lives to the pursuit of freedom and equality for all. Two of their children serve in this administration in the highest echelons of authority.
All Mama Sisulu's children, and her extended family, are in our thoughts at this time. Our thoughts are also with the ANC, the organisation in which Mama Sisulu played such a vital role as a leader during the struggle and also became a mentor for many of you that are in this House today.
Mama Sisulu's role in the UDF, where she served as co-president, was integral in bringing an end to apartheid. But what is truly remarkable is that, even after the fall of apartheid, Mama Sisulu continued to contribute to the development of our democracy in her capacity as an ANC MP. She never believed that her job was done.
Mama Sisulu was one of many South Africans who made immeasurable personal sacrifices to fight for the establishment of a free constitutional state in our country. She showed strength and courage, both in the face of the apartheid edifice and in times of personal struggle and tribulations.
The most fitting way that we as legislators can honour her legacy, and the legacy of other leaders of her time such as her husband, the late Walter Sisulu, the late Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, is by ensuring that those values for which these leaders fought are promoted and protected. We must ensure that the work of Parliament in providing oversight and promoting basic democratic principles is defended at all costs. We cannot allow the democratic advances that Mama Sisulu fought for to slip through our fingers and be replaced by populist politicking that serves only individual agendas.
Albertina Sisulu's unique maternal manner made her the mother of our nation. She wore the mantle of matriarch in an inimitable fashion. She will be remembered for her courage and fearless determination to see South Africa transformed into a country for all its people.
We, however, do not despair of hope in our profound loss. The comforting words of the prophet Micah are indeed a source of solace: "When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me."
Mama Sisulu is survived by her family, her friends and loved ones, and a nation indebted to her determination to see the vision of a free, democratic South Africa realised.
Allow me, Deputy Speaker and the bereaved Sisulu family, to invoke three verses of the original anthem of Africa, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, to pay tribute to our deceased mother and her life's endeavours.
Yiza, Moya! Sikelela, Nkosi, sikelela, Yiza, Moya Oyingcwele
Nkosi, sikelela, thina, Lusapho lwayo. Sikelel' amalinge ethu Awomanyano nokuzakha Awemfundo nemvisiswano uwasikelele.
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika Cima bonk' ubugwenxa bayo Nezigqitho nezono zayo Uyisikelele.
Lala ngoxolo, Mama Sisulu. Akuhlanga lungehlanga. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Come, Holy Spirit, come Bless, oh God, bless Come, Holy Spirit, come
Bless us, oh God We, Africa's family Bless our initiatives To unite and build Bless our initiatives Towards education and mutual understanding.
God bless Africa Forgive all its evil Its trespasses and sins God bless Africa.
Rest in peace, Mama Sisulu. Please accept what has happened as fate. [Applause.]]
Somlomo, i-Cope idlulisa uvelwano kwi-ANC ngokushiywa kwayo sisithwalandwe, intandane yethu, uMama uNontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu. [Speaker, Cope sends its condolences to the ANC on the loss of their veteran and icon, our beloved Mama Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu.]
After the death of Comrade Steve Biko, the University of Fort Hare was never the same for us young, married, women academics. We searched high and low for an answer and the truth, until we found uMama.
Her leadership skills manifested themselves at an early age, when she was chosen as head girl in Standard 5 at Xolobe.
Eso sikolo sakhe sisekhona nanamhlanje kwesikaNkosi uMnyhila obenguninalume, eTsomo, kwaye sithiywe ngegama lakhe. [Her school still exists even today in the district of Nkosi Mnyhila, her uncle, at Tsomo, and it has been named after her.]
She never abandoned the poor.
Abantu baseXolobe, amaZotsho, bayayibulela intombi yabo uMaNdlangisa, uThole, kuba engakhange ayilibale intlupheko yabo ngokuthi abakhele esi sikolo esebenzisana namaziko abucala. [The people of Xolobe, the amaZotsho clan, are grateful to their daughter, MaNdlangisa, Thole, because she never forgot their poor conditions and she built a school with the assistance of private institutions.]
The hallmark of her leadership was her intrinsic humility, ingrained with deep love for her traditional values.
KwaMama akulityalwa mngqusho, akulityalwa mvubo, akulityalwa ntyabonyti. uMa ubesoloko esithanda isintu sakhe ngalo lonke ixesha. [At Mama's home you would always find samp and beans, crumbly mealie meal porridge with sour milk, and melon. Mama always loved her culture and tradition.]
I am sure that many of our hon leaders here have seen that infectious smile whenever she was in her traditional wear.
UMama taught us good discipline. When we were young, as the ANC Women's League, we went to a conference, eMalibongwe, in Amsterdam, followed by a conference in Botswana, to meet with our leaders in exile. UMama insisted that we, the delegation of young South African women, be exemplary in our behaviour.
Of course, one look of disapproval from uMama was enough to let you know that you had overstepped your boundary. Her disciplined upbringing and remarkable ability to care for others made her one of the most remarkable mothers in our country.
For two years after the release of our leaders we shared offices with uMama, as our leader, at what later became known as the Shell House ... apho sasikumgangatho we-17, ootata bethu bekowama-24. [... where we occupied the 17th floor, and our male counterparts the 24th.]
Mama Sisulu lived by the ethos of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfika. She hated racism with a passion. She wanted all the people of our country to rise above the racism that degraded our humanity. Her reach was broad and her persuasive influence was total. When a life has been lived as completely, courageously, honestly, selflessly and successfully as Mama's, the correct response to the punctuation mark in that life is for us to carry on her legacy.
Thina ke besingamaphelo akhe kuba besibancinci. Ngoku kufuneka thina sikhulise la wethu amaphelo - ooNdabeni, ooMazibuko, oo-Adams, ooManana, ooBabalwa abahloniphekileyo - ngamaphelo ethu. Kufuneka sibenzele umzekelo wokuba umama ukhulisa njani na. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[We were like her last-born children because we were young. Now it is our turn to raise our own last-born children - such as hon Ndabeni, Mazibuko, Adams, Manana, and Babalwa - they are our last-born children. We must be exemplary and show them how a mother raises her children.]
The question worth asking is: Can we in honesty say that we too live by the values that she cherished and act with the courage that she showed? Our generation is so willing to compromise the truth and so ready to suppress that truth. In her remarkable life she showed how the truth sets a person free.
UMama leaves the world uncontaminated in any way and with her name unblemished in any manner. She departs with a perfect testimonial. Her name and what she stood for must be defended because they bore a remarkable similarity to the values that are enshrined in our Constitution.
One who followed her and one who abided by the spirit of the Constitution would have been companions on the same path. We mourn her loss, but let us never mourn the loss of the principles and values she stood for. That would be a loss too great for us to bear.
Ithi ke Ma i-Cope: "Hamba kakuhle. Lala ntombi, mzukulwana wakwaMnyhila, Thole, MaNdlangisa, maze' ebhonxe amabele eyenyisa isizwe sonke." Masimkhululeni ahambe kuba umzamo omhle uwuzamile; ugqatso ulufezile; ukholo ulugcinile. Okwethu kukubambelela. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Cope says to you, Mama: "Farewell. Rest in peace, beloved daughter, grandchild of Mnyhila, Thole, MaNdlangisa, a mother who fed the whole nation." We need to let her go because she has fought a good fight, she has finished the race and has kept the faith. Ours is never to give up, but to hold on.]
I would like to sing: